Space Oddity
by xxbeyondxbirthdayxx
Summary: Matt and Mello knew that being back from the dead was one thing, going at war against shinigamis was another one. But when one hero meets his limits, the Earth needs someone to take over. Now, Matt isn't so sure anymore who wears the scar better. Harlock's the pirate, but Mello holds more of the space cowboy, and in between, Matt's a bit confused. [3some]
1. Chapter 1

_**Note:** Okay, I wasn't supposed to post anything new until TSFMS is finished, but this crossover kept on bugging my brain, and TSFMS is almost over anyway (and will be updated later this week :))_

_Sooo I never thought I'd write a crossover one day but everything happens XD_  
_As a fan of Harlock for umpteenth years (since I was 5, so a veeeeery long time, that was my first fandom and I'm still hooked after all this time), I had never felt the need to write about it, weirdly enough._  
_But the soon-to-come (fall 2013) 3D Harlock movie somehow triggered my inspiration for this fandom because, seriously, have you seen the trailers? Harlock looks so real, and they really did him justice, it's like... he's finally real :D (go on Youtube and search for Harlock 2013)._  
_Guys with scars... I had to mix Mello and Harlock, I HAD to. But there had to be Matt, I couldn't leave him behind :)_

_The sole purpose of this fic is the lemon I wanted to write (not the quicky in this chapter, a BIG one in later chapters, 3some and all), but as usual, I created a whole background for it, and ended up with, instead of the planned oneshot, a multichaptered fic with a plot. It won't be long, 5 chapters to the most, and I mean it. _

_I hope you enjoy it, even if it's pretty weird, I guess..._

* * *

The battle was raging, humans falling one after the other, with a name on a page.  
There was no hope. What had been unleashed meant the end of the human race, no less. If they had known... obviously they would never have started this. _He _ would never have started this...

This. The war between men and shinigamis. And shinigamis were winning it. They didn't have to fight, they only needed a death note and a pen...

* * *

After Kira was defeated, Ryuk got bored. He stayed around Near for a while, but you can't expect much amusement from a brat that spends his time solving cases that looked so unattractive compared to the Kira case, or playing on the floor.  
With the advice of Berig, his new-found companion in boredom, Ryuk had started to bring some people back to life.

Berig, from the realm of the shinigamis, had observed the whole Kira investigation, and had made some deductions.  
Now, he only wanted to see if they would be proven right. He loved to play with humans, and he wouldn't derogate to his line of action, not when it could become that entertaining.

So, from the depths of the Earth, Matt and Mello were brought back to life. Berig had a certitude that Mello, although willing to give his life for the sake of Near solving the Kira case, would have a word or two to say to the albino boy concerning Matt being shot down. Humans and their weaknesses were so amusing...

* * *

"What the fuck?!" the boy muttered, finding himself in the middle of nowhere, very much alive. Or at least, that's what it felt like to him, to be breathing again and suddenly back to something that resembled a church courtyard. A very decrepit church to say the least. With a truck swamped into it, carbonized and falling to pieces, grass growing through the metal carcass. Nothing like the place where he had spent the... whatever length of something that wasn't called time anymore there.

He took a few steps, feeling even more alive now that he felt a pressure in his bladder.  
"Great, I hope I'm not back to life for the sole purpose of taking a piss..." he mumbled, pulling his cock out through the opened zipper of his jeans and spilling off on the grass.  
"I can think of other uses for your cock if you don't know what to do with your time back to life." a voice resounded behind him. He turned around, unashamed of being still in the process of shoving his member back in his pants as he faced the leather clad, long haired boy walking toward him nonchalantly.  
It didn't even surprise him that the other just acted as if they were in a very normal situation, not the slightest hint of questioning in his eyes as he strode, looking around. If anything, he just had the same old slightly bored, cocky and proud mix that he always had adorned. Well, until they died and ended up separated in nothingness, that is.

It was a very strange thing, to be dead. You didn't exist anymore, you weren't really somewhere, but you were still there. You were alone and still it didn't feel lonely, it didn't feel anything, actually. You were just witnessing the living world from where you weren't, without being able to process any feeling or knowledge.  
And now, being back, Matt and Mello knew what had happened to them, why they died, what happened after that, and it all just felt like resuming things after a very long moment of standing still.  
None of them felt any amazement from being alive again, numb to the thing as if they somehow remained the same past nothingness for a little longer.

"Same player plays again, I suppose..." Matt fumbled in his pocket, and this time, he was surprised that his fingers found the cigarettes he was craving for. Nine. Exactly the same amount that was left in the packet once he lit the one that he was never able to finish that day... He frowned, thinking of his cherry red baby crippled with bullets. Well, if his car hadn't made it, neither had Mello's motorcycle, since, according to the plan, it should be ruined in the back of the trunk a few feet away from them. Fuck, they had to walk. Matt could feel some more feelings, unpleasant ones, come back to him, ridding him of the last bits of nothingness in his guts. He hated walking. He took a few steps to the trunk, realising how stupid it was to hope to find the Honda still in a working shape. There wasn't even the space for it to be held anywhere, in that mess of rusty battered steel.

Mello's returning feelings were of a very different kind, Matt noticed, as the blond pushed him forward to the derelict wall nearby, Matt's hand as he stopped himself from crashing face first into it feeling the bricks give in under his palm.  
He chuckled as he felt arms slide around his waist, reaching for his belt that was quickly opened as well as his jeans, already crumpling down on his ankles with his boxers as Mello penetrated him without further warning.  
The harsh reintroduction to their sex life was soon combined with loving lips finding Matt's neck, arms holding his middle as the inside strokes became paced and harmonious, nips and kisses on a freckled skin reassuring, although unneeded, about a love that nothingness had only paused.  
Hands travelled down to a neglected area, bringing release to the already moaning second voice, as the first cried out, the embrace crushing and yet tender under completion.

"Some things never change." Matt turned around, sliding his arms around Mello's neck, smiling in the kiss. There were fireflies in his eyes and butterflies in his stomach as he cocked his head, giving a last peck to Mello's lips before nuzzling his neck.  
"Always so gorgeous that I just have to sex you up right there and then." the blond smiled back, grabbing Matt's wrist and taking a drag of the almost completely consumed cigarette before letting go, giving room to his lover to adjust himself.

* * *

"You really want me to believe that you never gave the order? That you actually made a mistake when hiring Lidner because you obviously couldn't trust her?" Mello was seething, facing Near. The albino boy was piling up Lego bricks, sat on the floor, barely looking at Mello, Matt standing back from both of them, shared between wanting to pull Mello by the arm and leave, because really, it was useless to fight verbally with Near, things were what they were and they were back and fuck, Matt just wanted to buy cigarettes, the lack of them making him nervous; and punch Near once and for all and make him stop to make his boyfriend angry because well, Matt didn't like an angry Mello when he barely had enough coins for cigarettes but said coins would have to buy chocolate instead.

Berig had explained to Near why the two were alive, as they were climbing up stairs inside the formerly known as SPK that stood now as SPCC, for Special Provision for Criminal Cases headquarters, and, practical as he was, Near, as usual, didn't give in to emotions and acknowledged the revival with few consideration, barely glancing at the couple entering the central where he resided at the moment. Why care for the newborn Dead when Legos could form the Eiffel tower?  
Mello wondered briefly if, with the knowledge he had now of what the afterlife was, his former rival was some kind of zombie, because actually, Near was closer to nothingness in his soul than anyone he knew.

But, Berig being right, Mello was now more focused on getting something from Near. Maybe not an apology, it would never be enough for killing his lover, who, even if he was very much alive and fuckable now once again, had died the horrible death and made his heart break and ache a lot more than the heart attack that awaited him a few seconds later. That pain was cat's piss compared to the one of learning that Matt had been shot _on order_.

"Does it matter, Mello?" Near replied, straining the syllables in his usual fashion.  
"Do I ever do things that don't, _ Near_?" Mello spit back, venom in the uttered name.  
Near had nothing to answer to that. He had the basic respect for Mello's actions before he died, and could recognise that indeed, Mello acted only when it mattered. That cost him his life, so even if he had gained it back, forcing Near to have this conversation now, he wouldn't deny him when his help was decisive in solving the Kira case.  
But Mello's clenched fists told him that he would have to say aloud his previous thoughts, because his understanding silence wasn't obviously enough.  
"I recognise that although yours was the one thing that allowed me to solve the case, Matt's death was unnecessary." Near's voice, for once, held a hint of sincerity, although barely noticeable in the general monotony. Had he not added a _'happy now?'_ after that sentence, Near may have gotten away with it. But two words can ruin a whole paragraph, and Matt was the one to react this time, walking forward and kicking Near's cubes before grabbing him by the collar, throwing him further violently.

Mello, although smirking in front of the scene, noticed Berig in a corner. Death apparently does that to you that you can see any god wandering around without the need of touching a death note or any other device, and the amusement on the unknown shinigami's face caught his attention. He didn't need any more time to put two and two together and get the general idea that they were being played. He had practised Sidoh, he knew what shinigamis were about, and this one was too much into the scene for him to be a simple spectator.  
"You." he addressed the death god.  
"Go on, don't mind me." Berig offered, smiling his most insincere smile.  
"I do mind when I see someone like you enjoying humans fighting a bit too much."  
"Oh, really? Does that mean it is over?" Berig's fake smile vanished, disappointment washing over him as he started to pout.

"Near, why do you have a... two shinigamis here with you? What the fuck is wrong with you? I thought this whole death note thing was over?" Mello turned around to face the albino boy again, as Ryuk appeared at Berig's side, an apple in hand, very satisfied that he could snatch one in the SPCC kitchens.  
"They just stick around, I don't really mind them so they can stay if they want, I don't care." the monotony was full this time.  
"I thought you had burnt _ all_ the death notes, how come you can still see them?" Mello had a feeling that something wasn't right, and that Near didn't give a flying fuck about it.  
"Things change when gods decide that they have to." the small boy on the floor explained, if that was an explanation at all. Even him could see it wouldn't be nearly enough for Mello to understand, so he went on: "Once the Kira case was solved, burning all the death notes resulted in chaos among death gods. The few remaining ones were in the hands of other shinigamis, and they fought over it because once Kira gone, they had nothing entertaining them anymore..."  
Matt chuckled: "Poor shinigamis, reality television was over for them..."  
Mello smirked, gesturing at Near to go on.  
"There were only two notes remaining and they all wanted one, so the god of the gods took them, so no one would have them in the end, but the gods grew bored, and that's why some spend time among humans."  
"And humans can see them? What the hell?" That didn't seem right to Mello.  
"Yes. As you are aware of, there aren't only death gods among us, but gods from other realms, love gods, sea gods... for what I know. Those we don't see, but with so many death gods among humans, some protective entities gave humans the power to see them, to even things a little bit, not knowing what death gods would be up to." Near didn't look up once, "But for now, I don't have any problem to report concerning those two, they have done nothing wrong until now."

Mello seemed to think for a few seconds, his eyes not leaving the two shinigamis. It made sense, although he knew now that from nothingness, all he had known was the unfolding of events without him, not the details, obviously. He knew what Near had been up to, what the world had become, but shinigamis all around, no, he had no idea. He wasn't so sure he liked said idea.

"Back to Halle." Mello suddenly stated, bringing Near to sigh at the realisation that his rival hadn't lost his trail of thought, and the purpose of his presence here.  
"I told you I never gave the order to shoot Matt, she decided that on her own accord." Near almost rolled his eyes, which, to him, was akin to showing the highest level of emotion he was capable of.  
"I got that. So why did she decide it? Where is she, actually? Maybe I should discuss that with her fist to face." Mello could feel anger boil in him again. He had always hated the bitch, he had always hated any woman using of her charms, because first, it wouldn't' work with him, he was as gay as gay can be, and second, it just gave away how few other arguments a woman had if she resorted to her body and tantalising attitude to get what she wanted.

"She's dead actually. But maybe those two will bring her back to life, who knows?" Near replied, piling the last Lego brick on top of his Eiffel tower.  
Berig looked thoughtful but then shook his head, informing Mello that he actually had no intention of bringing her back among the livings. Ryuk gave the same silent answer. Both were very much amused to deny Mello the pleasure to strangle the woman with his bare hands.  
"How did she die?" Matt asked, out of simple curiosity.  
"Car crash." Gevanni was the one to answer the question, "Last winter."  
"Oh." the redhead mouthed, not really touched by Lidner's death. He didn't know her, and didn't really care.

"Why wouldn't you bring her back? You did it for us!" Mello exclaimed, approaching the two death gods.  
"Because we don't take orders from humans, and because I wanted you two to fight, not her, she is no fun." Berig pouted again, gesturing at Near and Mello for the two whom he wanted to be fighting.  
"Is that the sole reason why you brought us back, for me to fight with Near?" Mello questioned, but Matt spoke, raising a subject that hadn't apparently touched on his boyfriend.  
"Why bring me back with him? Not that I'm complaining, but that doesn't make sense. I mean, I'd be a shinigami wanting to have fun, I'd leave the dead lover dead, if I wanted those two to fight over his death."  
Mello looked at him. Matt was right, it didn't make sense, and everything was a bit illogical as it was now.

"I couldn't bring one back without the other, actually." Ryuk said, "Your souls were so tightly bound that I couldn't have just Mello back. Sadly..." the shinigami sighed.  
"Love does transcend death, it seems." Matt smiled to Mello, who pressed his hand fondly, smiling back. Fucking romantic.

"Are we over now, Mello?" Near asked, his cubes littering the floor as he started his Eiffel tower once again.  
"I suppose. We have to find a place to live and stuff anyway, we're still dead to the world and I doubt that we'll find our old place as it was when we left..." Mello pulled Matt's hand and walked to the exit.

"Halle told her men to shoot at sight because she thought it would stop you." Berig suddenly shouted.  
"What?" Mello turned on his heels, staring at the shinigami, understanding that he was trying to retain him here, but not why this statement should actually make him stay.  
"She had to protect Kiyomi Takada, that's why. She thought you wouldn't go until the end of your plan if you knew that Matt was dead." Ryuk explained. The dark haired god apparently started to try keeping Mello here too, probably realising that once the couple would be gone, they had nothing left to entertain them anymore. It was over too soon to their likings.  
"I don't believe that. She knew me well enough to know that I would proceed anyway." the blond's eyes narrowed. Lidner was a cunt, but she wasn't that stupid.  
Berig grimaced. Wrong move. Mello didn't miss his expression, and quickly understood that the shinigamis were trying to manipulate him.  
"How far did you influence her?" he asked, seeing where this was going. Berig had given himself away, and was aware of it. Amusement was gone from his eyes, as well as Ryuk's, who gave him a scolding look for losing their source of entertainment.  
None of them replied, but Mello had a clear picture now: the shinigamis had driven Lidner to act the way she did. How, he didn't know, they were gods after all so even if Ryuk or Sidoh had never gotten involved with respectively Light or himself, it didn't mean they couldn't get humans to take actions under their influence.

"_You_ are actually responsible of Matt's death." Mello stated. It wasn't a question, he was sure of what he was saying, and the guilty look on both death gods' face was a proof of it all.  
The blond realised how childish those two were, acting like two kids being caught out stealing candy. Somehow, it brought many questions to his mind, the main one being that with so many shinigamis among humans now, the possibility that humans acted on their demand for the sole purpose of shinigamis having fun was high. The world seemed to be running pretty true now, but what if gods decided to have a kind of fun that infringed upon humanity?  
Who was actually acting under influence now? Maybe Near was, maybe he or Matt were and they didn't even know it?  
He didn't like it at all.

* * *

One more man fell dead after clutching at his chest. Death gods were mostly staring at the scene, only two death notes being available for the annihilation of the human race.  
It wasn't fast, but effective.

If they couldn't have fun with them alive, they would at least have a good amount of amusement at killing them all before the Earth was empty again.


	2. Chapter 2

_**Note:** I'm glad that there are people reading, and even reviewing (woot!), because I honestly thought this would go unnoticed XD_  
_mxmsupporter, I meant to say that earlier already, but please register on the site so I can reply to your reviews :D_  
_Anyway, thank you for following this story, readers and reviewers, chapters are longer than I usually do and I hope you will enjoy this one!_

* * *

Mello was knelt on the marble, his head bowed in deep concentration, Matt sat on a bench nearby, waiting. It had been like this since the day they had been back to life. Mello would come here and, if not pray, at least call. Mentally call for any god other than a shinigami to hear him.

At first, he had done it out of spite for the manipulation that had led to Matt being shot down. It wasn't the point to him that Matt was here, alive with him, revenge had always been his thing. He could never let go, he had to get at those hurting him, or snatching what belonged to him away. The present was no cure to his will for vengeance.  
But soon, Mello had realised that what he had feared was proven true. Shinigamis were everywhere, and humans were being fooled in ways that only death gods could think of.

Chaos ensued, and when Mello wasn't praying for help, he set up an illegal broadcast and spread the word on medium waves. The illegal broadcast became a full crew of people wanting to get rid of shinigamis, and it only added to the death gods' amusement to see people swarming with ideas and wanting to take action when, finally, they were just low lives with no real way to interfere.  
Only gods fight gods... Mello knew that. For the first time, the idea of a single God, the one he had prayed since he was a child old enough to understand the concept, looked stupid to him. It should have looked stupid to him long ago, as soon as he had learnt about the existence of shinigamis, but it only occurred to him now that he didn't know who he was praying. The single entity hung in rags on a cross was only an image, the gods around him were real.

And so he prayed, called to the gods, for a hint, a hand, some help. That didn't come, day after day. But he insisted, day after day too, because he was stubborn and never knew when it was time to stop. To Mello, anyway, it was only time to stop when you got what you wanted, as impossible as it was. He had tried to be number one although he never could, after all, so Matt wasn't surprised to see him try this too, even knowing the unlikelihood of the outcome.  
He just wished that he could smoke in that goddamn freezing church.  
Because as stubborn as Mello was, he also had to force his own action onto Matt. If he had to be here and pray, then Matt would, if not pray with him, at least freeze his ass over here too for support. That's what lovers do, Mello had stated, a slight pout on his lips as Matt opened his mouth to protest. Protest that turned into a heavy sigh before following Mello to the church.

Gods, not death ones, eventually replied, one day.  
Mello, on his way to the church, had witnessed this little boy running after his ball, his mother shouting behind him not to and running after him, and the boy ran faster, on the pavement, on the border of the road, then on the road, and Mello understood, as the ball was nowhere in sight, but a shinigami was, that the boy wasn't even running on his own accord anymore, throwing himself right in front of a car, the mother crying out her pain before collapsing on the ground as the boy disappeared under the wheels in a splash of blood.  
That day, Mello's prayers, rid of self vengeance, full of a noble cause, were heard.  
Aizen, goddess of love, knelt before pulling him upward, her hands holding his, bringing hope as well as a warmth that spread around the whole place, making Matt thankful, although he knew that it was a bit selfish to be grateful for the heat more than the help. But after a smoke, he'd probably feel the greatness of the help a lot better. Maybe. It was really cold here after all.

* * *

Humans had wanted war with shinigamis, they had it. And they were losing it.

There wasn't much they could do against death gods, but other gods had taken charge, because they held powers lacking to humans. They had assaulted the realm of the shinigamis, wiping them one after the other off the face of the entire universe, and they were close to winning, as only a handful of death gods remained.  
The god of shinigamis, seeing his army reduced to almost nothing, decided to take part.  
He had watched the war rage from afar, the apparently genetic boredom of a shinigami set aside at the sight of his own crew being mistreated. He enjoyed it, seeing his own peers turned to dust... death was only a state, after all.  
But he eventually understood that he would be the last target so, when it became obvious that other gods had the upper hand, he retrieved the two death notes in his possession.

Gods had never fought a realm against the other. They existed in some kind of harmony, trying to keep the balance between themselves and the humans they existed for. It was common sense that their purpose was some kind of guidance, they were humans' shepherds, even if sometimes they derogated to this by inflicting a disaster here and there. Humans were still here after all, so they could do with a little plague from time to time. Of course, shinigamis were a lot more active than other gods, and were one hundred percent at the origin of anything dreadful. But as long as humans didn't disappear, love gods and others had never deemed useful to cut shinigamis back down to size.

With the more than obvious outcome of what ennui did to shinigamis, things changed, though. Humanity was threatened, used like a Punch and Judy show, and actions had to be taken.

From above, the rest of the shinigamis minus two kept on fighting, losses accumulating on both sides with a strong advantage to all gods that weren't death gods.  
The two, frantically writing, saw their scribbling come to a result exactly forty seconds after they had started.  
Humans fell, one, two, three, then more, and even if it was by no means fast, it had the merit to stop all other gods cold.

Love gods attacked the two shinigamis holding the death notes, Aizen at their head, but suddenly a wave of shinigamis coming out of nowhere fought back, protecting the two. If humans could be brought back to life, shinigamis could be brought back to... their initial state, whatever it was, too. But this, no one had expected. Well, no one had ever managed to bring the god of the shinigamis to get out of his retreat and actually act, but it was now too late to think twice...  
Soon, only shinigamis remained, all other gods erased forever before they could even think of their own possibility to come back, if existing. There was no hope left, and probably nothing else either...

And humans fell, and it lasted for days, the two death notes filling rapidly, the population slowly decreasing.  
Mello contemplated the results of his foolish actions. He had never wanted that, and Mail was of no help at reassuring him that it wasn't his fault, that if not him, someone else would have brought things to that point, maybe even shinigamis themselves.

Mello had no god... no gods, to pray anymore. Their names, his and Matt's, would be the last ones to be written, so Mello could contemplate the whole humanity being wiped out before himself died again. He would have to see his lover die again before himself did. Shinigamis had mocked him, and they would make sure to inflict him some final excruciating heartbreak before getting rid of him too.

Matt fell to his knees among the corpses, Mello trying to lift him up, but Matt resisted, he couldn't stand up anymore and stare at the massacre. Tears ran down his cheeks, and he wondered why it was that fighting for a noble cause had given him the impression that they'd make a difference, that they stood a chance. He had always believed in Mello, in his drive, his fire, but Mello was nothing divine, and way too human to be a savior now.

"Matt, stand up now. NOW." Mello pulled his arms, forcing him on his feet, "We still have time before our turn. I have never given up, I won't do it now. If not for them, at least for us. For you... We've been brought back to life, and I plan on keeping things that way, or at least try to."  
"Mello... for fuck's sake, don't you see that we've lost? What hope is there now?" Matt let his head fall on his boyfriend's chest, sobbing. Arms found his shoulders, embracing them in a protective way.  
"I don't know. I just don't want to die doing nothing."

Matt had to admit that seeing Mello still being Mello, he could lure himself into some kind of hope. It would probably be less difficult with hope than without anyway, as fake as it would be.  
Mello, on his side, had all his cells in action, thinking heavily, trying to find a way. He would not stop fighting. His brain had always been his best asset and now was the time to make it work full regimen.

But first, he had to take Matt away from the war zone.  
It was a strange battlefield now anyway. Two death gods perched on a hill, writing names in a note, people running around, scared, panicking, as if it would make a difference...  
The only difference, actually, was that the shinigamis in possession of the death notes would soon be wandering the Earth, because they needed faces and names. They'd race through cities and villages, cleaning every life on their way, and only when they would be done, would Matt and Mello fall. But the gods already had their faces and names in mind, so the hammer would fall at an unexpected time for those two...

It was the worst aspect of it, for Mello. Not knowing when Matt would fall dead at his side, and unable to even do something... He knew that before the whole population got wiped out, he had quite some time ahead of him, but still, the moment would come and... Shit... Feeling so powerless under Matt's stare... It was painful. Big blue eyes, wet, still with a slight hint of faith in him. Faith in what? In his ability to find last minute solutions? His willpower that had led him to the top of the Mafia? His determination to do whatever it takes to go until the end of his plans, even to give his life?  
The problem now was that Mello would give his life, unwillingly, but it wouldn't change a single thing. He didn't want to die still, he'd die standing up and fighting, but appearances wouldn't save them. Once they'd be dead, the cardboard hero would just be the last body on the ground. No fame, no glory, no one to remember that he stood strong until the end. And even so... maybe he should just be grateful that he wouldn't survive Matt for more than a few seconds.

But just as the two shinigamis began to leave the hill, one approached the couple, a smirk on his face, looking around, taking in the sight of his morbid work.  
"Mihael Keehl. Your name will never be written."  
That's all he said, before joining his companion and leaving the silent place for another reaping area.

Worse than dying, living alone without the love of his life was damnation...  
Really, it didn't make a difference, he could always end his own life, but somehow, the knowledge that shinigamis wanted to torture him just a little more set his will for vengeance back in action. And what if they brought him back to life each time he killed himself? Oh... so that was their plan... Mello had a hard time fighting back the nausea and tears taking over him.

Slowly, they made their way to the nearest house, stepping between dead bodies. There, they gathered sustenance, anything that could be useful and that they could carry. It wasn't theft, after all, no one would ever reclaim what they were taking.  
Taking the opposite direction than the death gods had, they walked for a while, exiting the city and reaching a calmer place, one where life still existed.

Soon, the news broadcast the disaster, and from local, the panic became worldwide. Matt and Mello were the silent witnesses of the madness. Recluse, they went on with life, Mello trying to provide Matt with reassurance as he saw his lover dive head first in sadness and despair. Not for himself, he knew his death would be quick, probably. A chest pain and it would be over. But dying knowing he would leave Mello behind, this, he couldn't take...

* * *

Mello had taken a cigarette from Matt's pack, the redhead still sleeping in the small house they were occupying. He could even see a tuft of red hair resting on a pillow, through the open window, as he stood in the grass in front of the door. A really small house.  
Lighting the cigarette, he coughed the first smoke, unused, he didn't even know why he was smoking anyway, but after one more almost sleepless night cradling Matt, soothing him to sleep, and finally managing to, Mello thought he needed one.  
Matt was exhausted, not allowing himself to have a proper night of sleep as long as Mello himself was awake, forming plans, trying to get the one idea that could save them... But seeing his boyfriend slowly losing condition, Mello had tucked him in bed, forcing some food in him before petting his hair and holding him tight, so he would finally let go and rest.  
The blond had eventually drifted to sleep as well, waking up a few hours later at the break of dawn, careful not to wake the other as he untangled his arm from the sleeping form.

Staring at the sun rising slowly, Mello sighed. In this silence, this peace, it was hard to believe what was happening. But he just had to walk a few hundred feet to know that all of this was real. Where the shinigamis had started their macabre task, everything had died with the people. Gardens and cultures weren't watered, animals weren't fed, doors had stayed open, and it all looked way too much like ghost towns in horror movies.  
Except that in this movie, the blonde hadn't died first.

Blinking several times, Mello knew that he had stared too long at the sun, now brighter, when a black dot started dancing in his sight.  
Or was it?

The dot became bigger, and no blinking made it go away, for the very good reason that it wasn't some hallucination, but something flying in their direction.  
"What the fuck?" Mello groaned, tossing the cigarette away with a pinch, grimacing at the taste lingering on his tongue. Funny that he liked it on Matt's.

Pondering over the fact that he didn't want to wake Matt up so early, the redhead in great need of sleep, but that he wanted him to see what himself was seeing, Mello saw now a blurry form replace the simple dot. It was probably still very far since all he could make up was something round with three spikes, on on top and one on each sides.  
But it grew bigger ever second, and Mello could feel a slight fear show up. It was really coming their way.

Unable to wait any more, he went back inside and tried to wake Matt as gently as possible.  
"Mmh..." Matt groaned, rolling to face Mello but unable to open his eyes, still heavy with sleep.  
"Matt, sweetie, wake up, there's something... come on, you need to see something." Mello insisted, stroking Matt's cheek and pushing his hair back.  
"What?" Matt slurred, raising on an elbow, rubbing his eyes with his other hand.  
"Come on." Mello pulled him out of bed.

Matt whined at the feeling of cold damp grass under his bare feet, as he stepped outside, following Mello. Yawning, he tried to adjust his sight to the blinding light, his eyes focused on what Mello was pointing with his finger.  
It was even bigger now, but the contrast with the sun in the background just rendered it black still.

"You woke me at fuck in the morning to look at a god damn plane?" Matt bitched, now fully awake and already going back inside to fetch his cigarettes.

Mello stared at the redhead's back.  
"It's not a plane you dumbass, can't you see that? It's flying way too low, it's almost like it's grazing the top of the highest buildings in the distance now. And the shape isn't one of a plane anyway..."  
Matt stared, dragging on his cigarettes. "Mmh, maybe."

The relative quietness left place to real silence suddenly, as all birds stopped singing, like holding their breath, before exploding in chirps and flapping wings and then they were gone.  
They were soon replaced by the growing sound of an engine. It was still faint, a light hum, but as both boys could now distinguish more and more of the form against the sun, the hum turned to a woosh, then to a full roar as, with a speed none of them both had seen coming, the engine occulted the sun, close enough to let them see without being blinded.

It was barely a few hundred feet away now, and Matt and Mello opened wide eyes, jaws slack.  
The long vessel showed its face, the front adorning a massive skull carved in the metal of the carcass, white against the dark edges.  
A _what the hell?_ escaped Mello's lips, his voice drowning in the blast of reactors spitting fire full force, the length of the flying vehicle passing by him and Matt at a distance so short that they felt the ground shake under their feet and the heat released by the engine blow right in their face.

It was a dull dark green, enormous ship, more than a thousand feet long, and it was now barely a few feet above the ground, obviously close to landing. It sailed over to the dead land, beyond the house and up to the hill where shinigamis had started to kill, and, in a deafening vibration, touched the ground and stopped, the noise finally dying down to a light, sometimes bleeping, kind of beehive buzz.

"I take back what I said." Matt murmured, still staring in disbelief at the vehicle in the distance.  
"What?" Mello asked, staring as well, unable to move from where he stood.  
"It's definitely not a plane." the redhead replied, lighting another cigarette absent-mindedly, focused on the vessel.  
"No shit." Mello regained his senses, "Let's go."  
Matt turned to look at Mello: "What?! No way! I'm not going anywhere close to that thing!"  
"Come on, stop whining and get dressed!"  
"Are you nuts? It's probably some shinigami shit, I'm not going!"  
"Matt, stop being a baby, we're last, remember?"

Matt sighed, got dressed, and followed Mello carefully, eyeing the ship the whole time, ready to run away at any sign of something moving around.  
It was like monuments, you see them in a distance, and you have the impression that they're really close, but the more you walk, the more you see that you're not ready to come near.  
It took them a good half hour to finally reach the landing area, Matt being more and more reluctant as they approached too close to his likings, and Mello pestering as he had to pull him along like a dead weight.

Now, standing at a safe distance but still too close for Matt, who was slightly trembling at the sight in front of him, they waited. Maybe someone would come out of it?  
The skull on the front, from that close, was terrifying. It almost looked alive, ready to eat you.

"Mello, let's go back... I have a bad feeling about it..." Matt was ready to take a step back when something rattled, and suddenly a huge railing opened, slowly going down until it reached the ground.  
A human form stood out up the railing, drowned in the shadow of the spaceship.


End file.
